**Rangers Head Coach Mike Sullivan Opts for Veteran Lineup Ahead of 2-0 Win Over Canucks**
*Vancouver, British Columbia* — Ahead of Tuesday night’s 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan made several lineup adjustments, favoring more veteran personnel over youth.
Brennan Othmann was replaced by Jonny Brodzinski after just one game — the 5-1 loss in Calgary — following a rough outing from the rookie on Sunday night. Brodzinski took the right wing spot on the fourth line alongside Adam Edstrom and Sam Carrick, while Othmann was relegated to the press box.
“I sat with him after the Lehigh Valley rookie games and tried to define for him what the expectation is, and how we could potentially earn a roster spot,” Sullivan said regarding Othmann. “I think the most important element is just attention to detail, reliability, knowing your job, doing your job, play away from the puck. That was where his focus needed to be. We’re looking for that element as an important aspect of him earning a roster spot.
“In the game the other night, there were some good things that he did. There were also moments where attention to detail could have helped us keep the puck out of the net and things of that nature. We’ll continue to work with Otter with respect to those details and what those mean.”
Sullivan also made a defensive change for the first time since Carson Soucy was activated off injured reserve on October 20. Matthew Robertson was a healthy scratch Tuesday night after playing seven consecutive games, leading to Urho Vaakanainen returning to the lineup for the first time since October 18.
The 26-year-old Finnish defenseman had been a healthy scratch in the previous three games.
“We feel like we have seven defensemen that are very capable,” Sullivan said. “We thought Robo was playing extremely well — bringing an element of physicality, playing with confidence, playing on his toes. He was defending the rush well, had a good stick, and was making good decisions about when to pinch and when not to. There was a simplicity to his game and a physical edge that we felt deserved him being in the lineup.
“As a young player, for me, the biggest thing is trying to bring that consistently. We felt that the last couple of games, his game hasn’t been up to that level. We’ll work with him. Quinnie sits with those guys almost daily. Vaaks is another guy who is very capable, too. These are competitive guys who all want to be in the lineup every night. We’re trying to make the best decisions for the team to give us the best chance to win.
“There’s a process that we go through after every game — evaluating and assessing what we have — and we make decisions from there.”
Sullivan also provided an update on Matt Rempe, who did not join the road trip as he is still being evaluated for an upper-body injury in New York. The coach revealed Rempe is expected to be out “longer term.”
Additionally, Vincent Trocheck has resumed skating over the past two days. The Rangers center has missed nine straight games while on long-term injured reserve, recovering from an upper-body injury.
The Canucks were without their star defenseman Quinn Hughes for a second straight game due to a lower-body injury, along with several other regulars in their lineup.
“I’d rather see him yesterday than today,” J.T. Miller quipped before the game, referencing the two former teammates as well as Canucks head coach Adam Foote meeting on Monday.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/29/sports/mike-sullivan-opts-for-veterans-in-rangers-lineup-reshuffle/
